The best songs, music-related stories, interviews, live music, industry news and music documentaries from NZ and the world

5:09 PM. After March 15th

After March 15th From a Plains FM series begun three days after last months' terror attacks and presented by Lana Hart who speaks to the people involved in, and affected by, the mosque tragedies in Christchurch. (Plains FM);

6:08 AM. Storytime

Turnip Gunpowder, by David Somerset, told by Peter Vere Jones; Island in the Lagoon, by Anthony Holcroft, told by Beryl Te Wiata; The Invaders, by Ian Colthart, told by Lloyd Scott; The Little Tractor, by Joy Cowley, told by Rangimoana Taylor; Everything Happens For The Best, by David Somerset, told by Fiona Samuel (RNZ)

12:12 PM. Two Cents Worth

It's an 'all access pass' to what's happening in the worlds of arts and entertainment

1:10 At the Movies

A weekly topical magazine programme about current film releases and film-related topics (RNZ)

2:05 The Laugh Track

3:04 PM. The 3 O'Clock Drama

Highlighting radio playwriting and performance (RNZ)

4:06 PM. The Sunday Feature

The Nature and Role of Dissent in the Christian Church: As a tribute to the late Neville Glasgow who died on 7 April 2019, we feature this 1991 programme in which he leads three controversial theologians in discussion - Reverend Don Cupitt, Bishop John Spong, and Lloyd Geering. All have remained within the church despite being labelled as heretics by conservatives. They talk about their personal faith, dissent from the traditional Christian church, and their role as theologians. (RNZ)

6:00 AM. Breakfast with Anna Thomas

An early miscellany of music, stories and random thoughts including:c
6:14 Angel of Mercy by Karen Goa
6:30 How The World Changed Music
6:50 The Lady or the Tiger by F R Stockton
7:10 The Inquiry: Are smart cities dumb?
7:35 The Best Pair by Robyn Anderson
7:50 Witness History

12:12 PM. Matinee Idle with Phil O'Brien and Simon Morris

5:00 PM. Five O'Clock Report

5:10 PM. The History of Wastefulness: 2 - Rubbish Through the Ages

Alexandra Spring continues her exploration of how our relationship with rubbish has evolved through time (BBC)

5:40 PM. And All Faiths Prayed as One by Murray Richards

The congregations from two very different churches are thrown together by circumstance (RNZ)

6:06 PM. RoboLife

BBC Journalist Mariko Oi has young children who are starting school in Singapore, where robots are increasingly being used in education. Her ageing parents live in Japan, where robots are now assisting in elderly care. She has concerns about the future, and sets off to find out just what these machines are being used for, why we need them, and what they're really capable of (BBC)

7:06 PM. After March 15th

After March 15th is a special series from Plains FM in Christchurch, in which Lana Hart speaks to the people involved in, and affected by, the mosque tragedies in Christchurch, exploring ways forward so listeners can better understand what has happened and what we do now.(Plains FM)

7:30 PM. Public Enemy#4 - Trump's America

Repeating the RNZ podcast series first broadcast in 1996 when RNZ reporter Mohamed Hassan recorded the experiences of Muslims not just in New Zealand, but in the USA and Australia as well. As Donald Trump is inaugurated as the 45th President of the United States Mohamed Hassan asks How do you fight a president who is hostile to your culture? (RNZ)

6:30 PM. Trending Now

Porochista Khakpour: Sick - The writer Porochista Khakpour was born in Tehran in 1978 and raised in the Greater Los Angeles area. Her most recent work, Sick, is a memoir of chronic illness, misdiagnosis, addiction and the myth of full recovery.

9:06 PM. The Worst Sitcom in the World: an anatomy of failure

Around 25 years ago New Zealand television embarked on a scheme to produce the best Kiwi sitcom ever. The show was called Melody Rules and was a tremendous flop. Why? It had everything going for it when the process began (7 of 8, Down Low Concept/RNZ)

9:30 PM. Fall of the Shah

'The Collapse' - February 14th 1979. With two governments declaring sovereignty, and an army at breaking point, the American Embassy finds itself surrounded (8 of 9, BBC)

The Dawn Ceremony of Remembrance from the Pukeahu National War Memorial Park in central Wellington presented by Philippa Tolley (RNZ)

7:10 AM. The Battle of Ruapekapeka

The Battle of Ruapekapekawas the last battle of the Northern War, where about 400 Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Hine warriors stood against a combined British force of 1600. Nobody knows for sure where Ngati Hine chief Te Ruki Kawiti got his inspiration for the revolutionary design of the pā. But it worked well - withstanding 2 weeks of British bombardment with canons, howitzers, mortars, and rockets, before the the massive timber palisades were breached.

5:10 PM. The History of Wastefulness:

5:40 PM. As We That Are Left Grow Old

A short story by Lindsay Wood read by Jed Brophy (RNZ)

6:06 PM. Witness History: The Red Baron

The Red Baron is recalled in archival BBC recordings of veterans as this Witness History programme tells the story of one of the most famous figures of World War One. The legendary German air ace Baron von Richthofen who was killed in April 1918. (BBCWS)

6:20 PM. The Battle of Crete by Carl Nixon

A short story in which a World War Two veteran, is reluctantly persuaded by his daughter to fly across the world to attend the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Crete (RNZ)

6:50 PM. How The World Changed Music

Haisai Ojisan – Hey Old Man!was released in 1972, by Shoukichi Kina, a musician who grew up under American military occupation on the pacific Island of Okinawa, scene of one of the bloodiest battles of WW2. Kina wrote this song when he was just thirteen years-old and still performs it for adoring audiences today. (BBC)

7:06 PM. How Scared Should We Be?

The Inquiry: Four expert witness consider the question How Scared Should We Be? Who benefits from our fear and is there more than just global reporting behind it? Has the world become more dangerous or has our perception of the world just changed? Rolling news and social media makes us aware of every threat no matter where in the world. From Ebola to flying we investigate the deeper reasons behind our modern fears. Speaking with experts in public health, risk and fear to find out why we are all so afraid. (BBC)

7:35 PM. New Horizons

8:06 PM. The Mount Felix Tapestry

The Mount Felix Tapestry is a stitched tribute to a special WWI hospital in England. Mount Felix Hospital, at Walton-on-Thames was the first of three hospitals established in the UK, specifically for injured Kiwi soldiers. The building is gone, but mementos of the Kiwi presence remain and embroiderers from the area commissioned a project to commemorate the hospital and its people. Ellie Jay.speaks to some of those who helped create the 44-panel tapestry which is currently on tour in New Zealand. (RNZ)

Highlights from the world of science and the environment, with Alison Ballance (RNZ)

9:30 PM. The Podcast

Highlights from The Podcast Hourin which Richard Scott hunts out the best podcasts from New Zealand and around the world to help you discover what to listen to next (RNZ)

10:00 PM. News at Ten

A roundup of today's news and sport

10:12 PM. World Book Club

In this BBC World Book Club programme Malaysian novelist Tan Twan Eng discusses his Man Asian Literary Prize-winning novel, The Garden of Evening Mists. This haunting book set in Malaya in 1949, gradually reveals the long-concealed past of Yun Ling, the sole survivor of a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp. Now in old age, this lyrical memoir reveals Yun Ling’s struggle between her desire to record the events of her life and the trauma of these brutal memories, feelings which are mediated by the symbol of the garden and action which takes place within it. (BBC)(BBC)